#DontGetTaken

Don’t get taken. Your sons and daughters need you

— Tony Lewis Jr , "Slugg: A Boys Life In The Age of Mass Incarceration

Children With Incarcerated Parents

More than five million U.S. children have had one parent in prison at one time or another. These children have a higher number of other major, potentially traumatic life events—stressors that are most damaging all together.

Children with incarcerated parents ages 6 to 11 have been found to have more emotional difficulties, low school engagement, and more problems in school. Older youth, ages 11-17, have a greater likelihood of problems in school and less parental monitoring.

1 in 7 black children have had an incarcerated parent, but Child Trends reports that this statistic is likely a gross underestimation given the high percentage of single parent households in poor black communities.